What may be?
by gibbsgirlie08
Summary: When Gibbs runs into a feisty lady at the local hardware store, can he overcome his own past with the help of his 'kids' and start a new future?
1. Chapter 1

What may be?

AUTHORS NOTE: This is a new genre for me, romance so bear with me.

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING!

As he stood in the door way of her bedroom watching her sleep, a warmth and deep seated feeling of completeness came across him. They had fell asleep watching television last night, Gibbs had escorted her to her room and tucked her in for the night. Looking back over the last month, he couldn't believe how fast things had changed. He lightly walked across the room and laid a soft kiss across her brow. She didn't stir, just stretched a little and sighed with a grin. " I hope that dream is about me," he murmured as he exited her room, put his coffee cup in the sink and put a little note on the top of the misshapen coffee table.

_Had a good time, will be able to help with your project whenever you want to._

_Call me when you wake._

_Gibbs_

As Gibbs drove back to his house to shower up and go to bed. As he climbed into his bed, another slow grin spread across his face as he remembered back to one month ago.

_Flashback:_

_He was walking down the lumber aisle at the local hardware store when he notice a smaller set of hands, attempting to maneuver a large 4 foot by 8 foot piece of plywood all by herself. He noticed that she was starting to lean towards the floor and quickly stepped in to help steady the plywood._

"_I can do this! I did not ask for help!" The voice spoke out from behind the plywood with a sense of agitation. 'Why me?' Ana thought to herself as she was silently glad the whoever that had helped her had stepped in, but she could do this and would do this on her own._

_Ever the true gentleman and Marine, Gibbs just slowly lowered the plywood to the buggy and spoke softly, "Sorry, just didn't want to see anyone hurt? Didn't mean to intrude but…" Gibbs was all set on finishing his little ungratefulness speech when he turned and looked at her. She looked all of about 33 years old, her brunette hair had a slight red tinge to it when she turned her head to the side and the lights hit it in a particular way. She had on little make-up, her hair was pulled up into two little side braids on each shoulder. She had on a simple blue hoodie and some old jeans. Her eyes were this uncanny shade of hazel green, the kind that you could tell the emotions of the person by the subtle undertone, whether yellow, red or blue. She was on the short side, maybe 5ft 4 inches tall, maybe taller in heels. She was no supermodel body cut, and she was not magazine glamour gorgeous, but something in her face, her slightly smirky smile, made Gibbs feel a jolt he had not felt in years._

"_Is there sawdust on my face?" She asked as she wiped at her face, trying to see what was making this guy stare at her._

"_Oh, no. Sorry about that, I was just saying, that there is nothing wrong for asking for help when you need it. The name is Jethro." Gibbs said as he extended his hand to shake hers._

_The young lady tilted her head to the right as if contemplating whether to shake his hand or not, but slowly extended out her arm to meet his hand. "Anne Tormey, nice to meet you…..Jethro?" She asked as if she was checking to see if someone had actually named their child Jethro._

"_Yes ma'am." Gibbs answered purposely antagonizing her with the ma'am._

"_Ma'am? I may be older than the next cutie that fakes needing help to attract a man's attention, but I will let you know that I am not that old?" She said with a huff._

_Gibbs smirked as he watched her eyes light up with fire at his comment. " OH I have no doubt that you actually needed help, was your boyfriend too tied up to come pick this up? Gibbs asked in a round about way of trying to find her relationship status._

"_OHHHH! MEN!" Anne said with a flourish of hand motions. "Just because a lady is out by herself at a hardware store means that she is just the pack mule for a male at home. I will have you know this is for a project of mine! ME! Alone! I do not have someone to bring this back to, this is for me!" With that Anne turned to storm off in a storm, but was stopped by a firm hand on her elbow. That simple touch sent a jolt of electricity up her arm, making her heartrate increase. 'Calm down girl', she told herself, just a simple gesture._

"_I apologize if I offended you in anyway, I also work with wood. If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call. Here is my card." Gibbs said as he passed his card into hand and turned to walk away. He was rounding the corner into the next aisle when he heard the clue that she had read the card. He knew that this was totally cheesy, but his gut told him to just go with this and he did._

"_Leroy Jethro Gibbs, NCIS." Anne said with a snicker. "I thought Jethro was bad." Anne slid the card into her sweatshirt pocket and headed to check out._

_Two weeks later on a Friday night the team, AKA Gibbs kids, were finishing off a case when his phone rang. "Gibbs."  
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"_Hello, Jethro. This is Anne, the lady you met.." Anne started._

"_I remember you, how can I help you?" Gibbs asked as he turned to see his surrogate kids look at him with a surprise._

"_Well, I was wondering if you had sometime this weekend to grab a cup of coffee and discuss my wood project, it seems to have a life of its own and I don't know how to fix it." Anne spoke into the phone with a sense of hesitancy, it had been years since she had asked anyone, much a less a man, or even longer since it had been an extremely attractive man._

"_Yeah, no problem, we can meet for coffee tomorrow, say late morning, around 10 am or so." Gibbs hoped he sounded casual, because he knew that inside his heart was racing. It had been too long since he had a "date."_

"_Ok, thanks, so much, I mean, I hope this is no imposition or anything." Anne said._

"_No, no imposition. Tomorrow, 10am, Café Brulee, is that too far from your place, it seems to be a pretty centralized coffee shop." Gibbs offered._

"_No, that is perfect. I am just a few blocks away. So….ok 10 am…tomorrow, Bye Jethro."_

"_Sounds good. Bye Anne." Gibbs said as he closed his phone and turned to look at the four faces that now stood in shock._

"_Gibbs….a date….oooohhhhh! I bet red-head, tall, long legs and other great assets!" Tony said with a grin._

"_OK! Stop the staring! Go home before I give each of you cold cases to do this weekend!" Gibbs barked. _

"_Ok, good luck!" McGee said with a slight grin._

"_I hope all works well between you two." Ziva said with a gentle peck on the cheek._

"_I bet it all still works!" Tony said as he clapped Gibbs on the back and accepted the light headslap._

"_Have fun and be safe!" Abby said with a cheerful peck on his cheek. "What?" Abby asked as she looked at the slight shock on his face. "That is just what my dad tells me every weekend as I get ready to go out? Am I not correct?"_

"_Yeah, Abs, I tell all my KIDS that." He said as he looked at all four of them. "Now go home!" Gibbs turned and sat back down behind his desk. He was all out of whack, he felt nervous and he never felt like this. Well, at least in the past 15 years._

Gibbs rolled over in his bed, thinking about just how lucky he had become. He had four 'kids' and now possibly, did he dare think it, a girlfriend.

This is a new genre for me again, so I am trying to convey how I think Gibbs would react with out being to brash.

Reviews and comments are helpful.


	2. Chapter 2

What may be?

Ch 2

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING BUT MY CHARACTER ANNE!**

_Please read and review! Thanks to all my followers! Hope __to have more tomorrow. Almost finished next chapter. Just have to tweak it!_

_G_ibbs awoke at his normal ungodly hour of 0400. It was just progammed in him that this was the time that to get started. He trudged down the stairs and started a pot of coffee, he figured that he might be getting a call soon. He had a few questions for her, a few mysteries that he wanted answered. He grinned as he thought back to that first meeting at the coffee shop.

_Flashback*_

_He had arrived around 0945, anxious to see her again. He hadn't felt this type of anxiety since Shannon. He had already ordered his coffee and was sipping on it slowly as he felt her eyes staring into the back of his head. He knew from her earlier actions that she obviously had suffered a broken heart and that this was probably new to her also. He didn't want to scare her off, so instead of turning around to look at her, he let her come to him. After 5 minutes he turned to see where she was and noticed that she was not there. Thinking that she had bailed on him he started to get up when he saw a cup of steaming frothy cappuccino land on his table._

"_Leaving? I just got here." She said with a smile._

_Gibbs just snickered and took another sip of his coffee, if she was going to play this game he was ready._

"_What?" She asked. She knew that she had not seen him turn around, so he couldn't have known she was there. _

"_Oh, Ok." Gibbs said as he watched her take her seat across from him, cheeks flushed from the lie._

"_What? I mean.." Anne stammered._

"_Nothing. Actually it has been 10 minutes since you arrived." Gibbs said with a smile and another sip._

"_Huh? I mean…how? What?" She continued to stammer in disbelief._

"_Remember…I am a trained investigator. I was also a sniper in the Marines, so I can feel when someone is staring at me. So I know you stood there over 5 minutes deliberating whether to take the chance or walk away. Then you went in and purchased your coffee and made your way to here." Gibbs just said with a crooked smile._

"_Well…aren't you all special. Typical male behavior. Thinking they know it all." She said with a huff. She was caught off guard as she saw Gibbs extend his hand across the table to her._

"_Truce. You said something about a wood project, let me have a look at it. I assume those are the dimensions." Gibbs said with a nod to the papers in the folder._

_They had discussed the project and then started talking about their lives._

_Anne was the first to broach the subject of their private lives. "So.. on your card it says Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. NCIS. I understand that this is the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and you guys investigate crimes against the Navy and Marines, how?" She took a deep breath, hoping that this did not seem to nosy, but with her background, she loved to listen and learn. If Jethro thought he was the only one with intuitive skills then he had something else coming._

_Gibbs leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. He crossed his hands and looked at her. This wasn't anything he wasn't used to, most people were curious to their profession. "Well, I have a large team that is comprised of three of the top investigators, an elite forensic specialist, and the most thorough Medical Examiner and assistant. We are called out on the most severe cases, we investigate and attempt to solve. Plain and Simple. OK, my turn… what do you do?"_

_She had noticed the extreme pride he had in his eyes and voice when he spoke of his team. She thought this was kind of weird. One usually only see this type of pride when you speak about family and such, not co-workers, must be something else. She was ready to answer him, but not about every detail. "Well, I am a journalist, I dabble in psychology and love to work with my hands. I am pretty good at the first two, not as much with the last one though." She said as they finished their coffee. She had a sense of trust in this man she had only met, her gut telling her he was safe. So she took a giant leap. "So…I know this may sound like a pick up line from a cheap bar…..but do you want to come and see my attempt at wood work. I only live a few blocks from here and it would be easy and any help would be beneficial." God, she was rambling, nervous he would turn her down._

"_Nah." Gibbs said with a twinkle in his eye._

_Anne's head dropped as she registered the rejection from him. Well, she would show him it didn't matter to her. Lifting her head, she squared her shoulders and started to stand up. "Well…ok then….thanks for the time…I-"_

_Gibbs quickly put his hand over hers to stop her. "You didn't let me finish. Nah….not the cheesiest line I have heard, and yeah..let's go check out that project._

The coffee pot dinging its finish brought him back to the present. He remembered just how off her corners were on the wood, how uneven the legs had been. It would have been easier to just start over, but that would have been the easy way and she wanted to finish what she had started. They had continued to talk every night whether on the phone if late, or for dinner if he was not tied up in a case. These little dates had led him to last night and falling asleep on her couch. He had felt that relaxed and content in a long time. He sat at the table and started reading her daily paper.

Two hours later he heard his phone ring. He knew who it was. "Gibbs here. "

"I know who I called. Just wanted to say thanks for being the gentleman last night and leaving the note." Anne said as the simple actions has melted a layer of ice off her heart. She had thought that all the good men were taken and that this type of man no longer existed. But then she meets him and starts to see things a little differently. "So …what are you doing today?" She asked a little nervously. She had wanted to see him again, but didn't want to seem too forward.

Gibbs grinned into the phone, easily reading her question. "Oh, nothing much, just working on a small project in my basement. Sure could use an extra set of hands around here. Most of the help I get doesn't know a planer from a sander." He laughed lightly at the thought of his four 'kids' and their attempts to help him.

Not understanding what he thought was funny, she put that back in her head to ask about later. Did he entertain frequently? "Oh….well you've seen my shot at woodworking."

Gibbs felt a little flirty. "Well, from my view, everything I have seen of yours is fine."

"Jethro….are you flirting with me?" Anne asked with a husky laugh. She knew she thought he was a hot attractive man, but she had no idea he thought of her in the same way.

"Maybe…you ok with it?" Gibbs asked back.

"Oh….way more than ok. So-" Anne started.

"I will pick you up in 30 minutes if that is ok, thought we might swing by the café and grab some of your fancy coffee and donuts." Gibbs said.

"OK…I'll be ready and waiting. See ya." Ann said as she heard Jethro answer back and hang up. She quickly grabbed her blue jeans, the ones that accentuated the right places, and helped tone down the weaker areas. She threw on a red t-shirt and pulled her hair back into a barrette. He said he wanted her help in the basement, so she didn't want to dress up too much, but she still wanted to look sexy. She put on a light application of make-up, making sure to make her eyes and lips pop. Maybe…just maybe, she might tempt him enough to really kiss her. Not just a peck on the cheek, but a kiss. So as she finished touching up her lipstick, the door bell rang. Rushing to the door, she stopped to smooth down her top, put her earrings in and double check her in the hallway mirror. Opening the door, she smiled at the man who made her heart speed up with a simple smile.

Gibbs was nervous about this, he hadn't really invited anyone for a full day since Hollis Mann. It was all he could do last night not to kiss her, her lips just begged for his attention, but he wanted to take it slow and he knew if he started kissing her on that couch, then a full make-out session would have occurred. He took a deep breath tamping down that feeling of tightness in blue jeans, now was not the time for this. But as soon as she opened the door, he knew he it was a losing battle.

She gazed up and down him, noting his sweatshirt and jeans and what possibly could be a larger bulge in his jeans than before. She grinned and with a twinkle in her eye she simple asked. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, I need to do something first." Gibbs said as he took one step towards her.

Anne licked her lips as she coyly asked, "And that would be?"

"This," was all Gibbs said as he swooped down over lips. Slowly, gently tugging and sucking, asking for permission to taste her deeply. He wound his hands around the back of her head, steadying her for his soft assault.

Anne, stunned for a moment, didn't respond, but once she recovered she answered his question by opening her mouth and letting their dueling tongues do the talking. They continued to kiss until Gibbs remembered they were on her front step and that he needed to calm down or he would back her into her living room and finish exploring every part of her body. When he broke the kiss all she could do was lean her head back into his hands and say. "Wow!"

"Same here." Gibbs said as he brought his hands down to her shoulders and then slid them down until his hands were holding hers. "Been thinking about that since the first day I saw you."

"Same here." She answered with a laugh.

"Come on….let's go." Gibbs said as he pulled one hand free, but kept the other one tightly held with his as he made his way to the truck. He opened her door and watched her settle in and buckle up. He strode over to the driver side and hopped in. They had started back to the café when Gibbs phone rang. Looking at the caller ID he saw who it was. "Dinozzo! This had better be a damn emergency or a dead body or else they will have to investigate yours."

Anne was caught off-guard at the tone Jethro was using. She had never heard him talk with that tone or threat. She started thinking that maybe this man was not what he seemed to be. Maybe there was two sides to him. She had already had enough experience with a man that had two sides. One that was all sweet and the other more violent. She saw his knuckles turn white as his grip on the steering wheel increased.

"What do you mean you can't locate her? You all know rule 3?" Gibbs barked into the phone. "She went where? I specifically, in no uncertain terms told her not to go there."

Anne heard the other voice continue to talk and she saw the normally relaxed and gently face she knew grow tight with fear and anger.

"You all are where? …How long has she been missing?..." Gibbs hammered Tony for more info. Gibbs slammed his hand against the steering wheel, making her jump. "And you are just calling me now? Damn it, Dinozzo. On the way. Have McGee…Oh, ok. Well, tell Ziva to start….. Fine. Be there in 10 minutes." Gibbs slammed his phone shut and threw it on the seat between them. "Damn….when I get my hands on her…" Gibbs growled out and then realized that he had forgotten that he was not alone. He noted the sense of fear in her eyes. He knew that this was a side of him she had not seen yet. He had been hoping to get her to see this part of him last. He knew that he owed her an explanation, but there was little time to waste so he would give her the abridged version. He whipped the car around the turn and headed to NCIS. Taking a deep breath Gibbs tried to explain the phone call. "Sorry…..that was my senior agent Tony Dinozzo. It seems that our forensic specialist Abby Scuito has went missing. She was supposed to check in with Tony about 2 am and never did. Tony called the other two agents Tim McGee and Ziva David to see if they had heard anything from Abby. When they all realized that no one had heard from her they headed to NCIS to start looking for her. That was over 4 hours ago and still no word. Sorry to ruin this day but, I need to head to the Navy yard to help find her."

Anne was unsure how to take all of this. "Ummm, Ok. But it's the weekend, why would you want to keep tabs on her on her free time?" This was quickly taking a strange twist. Maybe he was a strict dictating type of boss, the kind that thought only the job mattered. But that would be against everything she has seen out of Jethro so far. "And even with that strange question, why would they wait four hours to ask if you had heard from her?"

'Well, here goes everything.' Gibbs thought to his self as he knew that eventually he would have to introduce them and let her see the unusual relationship he had with his co-worker, but he had wanted to have a more firm foundation with her before he introduced his 'family'. "Abby had been looking forward to going to this new club, but I had received information that this club was shady and had an active FBI investigation going on. I advised Abby not to go. She didn't listen, told Tony that was where she was going and that she would check in at 2am not to worry. He didn't know what I had told her." Gibbs said as he whipped his truck through the NCIS security gates, never even slowing down.

Anne was taken aback at the difference she noticed in Gibbs as soon as he put his foot down on the Navy yard. He was intimidating with his posture and just a glare and squint of his eyes had the desk guards handing her a visitor pass with no questions asked. It seemed as if everyone they had met so far was scared of Jethro. As they headed for the elevator and they stepped in she made a few side glances trying to evaluate this new Jethro she was seeing.

Gibbs felt her trying to glance at him without him knowing, and knew that she was probably confused and maybe a little scared. He knew how people at work seemed to cower at him, how just a simple change in facial expression can make someone jump through hoops, but she had not seen this before from him. He quickly slapped the emergency stop button, bringing the elevator to a stop and dimming the lights. He turned to her and grabbed her hand. "I am sorry…..this is not how I wanted you to see my job….my family…..but the prospect of Abby….hurt—"

When Gibbs grabbed her hand, she could feel the accelerated heart rate, she could feel the sweaty palms, she could literally feel the amount of fear coursing through this mans body. She knew with her experience in psychology, one only feel this kind of powerful reactions when dealing with someone extremely close to you. So whatever the unusual nature of this work environment, it was something deep. Seeing the hurt in his eyes, she quickly leaned up and briefly kissed his lips. "It's OK.. Let's go find Abby."

TBC

**UP next: Anne meets the team, listens and learns the true dynamics of this family and watches a father do his job.**

**PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! I AM THINKING OF HOW MUCH SHE SHOULD SEE OF THE TRUE GIBBS FAMILY DYNAMICS. I KNOW HOW GIBBS DEALS WITH HIS 'KIDS' IN MY OTHER GIBBS STORIES.**


	3. Chapter 3

What may be?

Ch 3.

_**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING!**_

_**THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL THE WONDERFUL REVIEWS! IN THE NEXT CHAPTER I DECIDED TO WRITE TO A CERTAIN TIME AND THEN HAVE WHERE GIBBS AND ABBY HAVE THEIR "DISCUSSSION" IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THIS TYPE YOU CAN SKIP THAT PART BUT FOR THOSE WHO HAVE READ MY GIBBS FAMILY STORIES I WILL INCLUDE GIBBS DEALING WITH ABBY.**_

_**PLEASE REVIEW! THIS IS THE MOST DIFFICULT STORY I AM ATTEMPTING TO WRITE. ALL SUGGESTIONS ARE HELPFUL.**_

Gibbs was speechless at how open Anne was to see the other side of his life, his team, his 'family' at work, he hated that she had to see them though when one of their own was the one missing. He reached and flipped the emergency switch to on and kept a tight hold on her hand. Even though they had only known each for a few weeks, the connection he felt with her was strong. He had never openly showed affection for a female companion in front of the family before, but now he knew he wanted them to see just how special she was to him. He turned to look to her and simply said, "Be prepared for a storm, this team is tight and the emotions and fears are…"

Anne smiled, squeezed his hand and finished his sentence. "They are on the edge, it's ok. I put on my big girl panties this morning, I can handle it." At that moment the doors of the elevator opened, and they stepped off and headed toward the voices and even though it was the weekend the amount of activity in the middle area of the floor was hectic. Anne saw three people so involved into their search they didn't notice the elevator ding and their presence. She watched as Gibbs took a deep breath, felt him give her hand a squeeze, and announce his presence. "Sit-rep Dinozzo!" Gibbs barked out.

Tony, deep in conversation with the Bar owner, had failed to notice Gibbs arrival, but just the sound of Gibbs voice broke the concentration. He immediately jumped up, which made Ziva and McGee jump and see Gibbs standing there. "Boss,I…." Tony stammered as he quickly scanned Gibbs up and down and noticed that his hand was attached to someone elses, but deciding to question that later he continued. "I have been on the phone trying to contact anyone with the bar, but all the numbers that McGee has pulled for the owners and employees are just ringing, no answer." Tony had now looked around Gibbs to see whose hand he was still holding. Tony looked over Gibbs shoulder and raised his eyebrows to Ziva and McGee, silently asking if they knew anything. They both shook their heads, also curious by this mystery woman.

Gibbs, knowing that they would never come out and ask directly, decided to break the ice. "Every one….this is Anne. Anne this is everyone." Knowing one more connection to try, he turned to Tony and said, "Keep trying, McGee have you tried tracing…."

"Her credit cards and phone. Yes, boss. Gibbs…..do you think?" Worry evident in McGee's voice.

"We'll find her."Gibbs said emphatically. His gut told him she was alive, now just where. "MTAC. If you get anything…."

"You'll know before we do!" Ziva asserted.

Gibbs walked past Tony and gave him a good headslalp. "Ow! Boss?" Tony questioned as Gibbs was already on the stairs heading towards MTAC.

"Don't you ever hesitate to notify me when there is a problem. Clear?" Gibbs said as he looked over the railing.

"Yeah, boss. Clear." Tony answered now more worried that his decision to wait to inform Gibbs may have backfired. He figured that Abby was just ignoring them, out of spite of feeling overprotected. He knew how adamant she was that she was as capable as the rest of them, but in all their minds she would always be the baby. Tony turned to see where Anne was and saw the perplexed expression on her face. "Oh, that is just our little game…you know…I mean….it doesn't happen that often…"

Ziva walked over to the lady Gibbs had introduced as Anne and extended her hand. "HA! Just about every day or so Tony. Ziva David, nice to meet you." Ziva watched as the woman took her hand and returned the greeting.

"Anne Tormey, same here." Anne turned around, trying to take in everything, from the big screen with information regarding Abby up on it, to the desks of each team member and how each one was individualized. "Sorry, I'm usually more friendly, but right now I am a little…."

"Overwhelmed. I can imagine. The dynamics of this team are not the usual workplace type." Ziva said as she escorted her to Gibbs desk. "Here, have a seat. I'm apologize for Gibbs, he usually isn't quite a gruff…" Ziva was interrupted by a laugh from McGee.

"Helloooo! Earth to Ziva…..this is Gibbs we are talking about. Gruff is him on a good day." McGee stood up and walked to stand in front of Gibbs desk. "Tim McGee, so…..you must be wondering about this whole team." Tim started to speak, but knew it wouldn't take Tony long to get his mind back off track.

Tony walked over to Anne, extended his hand, shook hers and proceeded to introduce himself. "Senior agent Tony Dinozzo." He said with confidence. "So…you got questions…..we got answers."

Anne was taken aback by just how close these co-workers seemed to be, it was if they could finish each others thoughts. They must spend a lot of time together. Her experience in psychology had let her see that even though they were outwardly trying to be nice to her, inside they were still deeply troubled over Abby. "I do. First. Abby is….."

"Our forensic specialist, Ziva, McGee and I are special agents, me, of course senior agent." Tony said with a huge grin. "Gibbs is our team leader."

"So when you call him boss, is that how he makes you address him?" Anne was starting to worry that Gibbs might have a superiority complex. She would never be able to stay with someone who made others around him feel inadequate.

"God, no… Gibbs, never. It is a term of respect we use. But he is so much more." McGee said as he looked up at the top of the stairs, making sure Gibbs was still in MTAC. "He's the best investigator at NCIS. This team is the best of the best here at NCIS, mostly due to Gibbs. I mean, he took me onto the team fresh out of FLETC school. I was green, inexperienced and raw, but Gibbs….made me who I am. A mentor is not an adequate word to describe how much he has taught me…" McGee made his way to his desk and sat back down and started typing away. He looked up and added. "And not just work stuff, life stuff."

"Ahhh, I see, so he molds you into what he wants you to be. He dictates and you listen and follow blindly." Anne said as she was trying to process what she had just heard.

"No….not like that at all." Ziva said as she starting pacing in front of Gibbs desk. She started waving her hands as she talked. "He doesn't make us what HE wants us to be…he wants us to be the best of what WE are and can be." Ziva stopped, placed both hands on the desk and looked the lady eye to eye. She was feeling like this lady was accusing Gibbs of unjust actions. Ziva was tired, her little sister was missing and the LADY was accusing Gibbs of being unfair. " I am a trained Mossad assassin, I can and have killed people with my bare hands. After I had met Gibbs, I left my position as one of the top Mossad agents, left my family and life in Isreal, to come and be one of his…..his…."Ziva's voice was getting louder as she felt the weariness of the whole situation hit her hard. She was ready to snap until she felt a large hand on her shoulder gently turn her back and into a deep hug.

"Shh!" Tony murmured into Ziva's hair. He knew that this was getting to her, but he had to stop her before she let her emotions run her mouth. "We will find her." Tony kept Ziva tightly held to his chest as he looked over her head and at Ann. "That is not how it is at all. Gibbs may be a hard nose sometimes, but that is because he expects the best from us. And….yeah he may have like 50 some odd unwritten rules, but they are there to help us and protect us. So he may be all….Col. Von Trapp keeping us in line, but every action he does is out of concern for us." Tony said as he turned to walk Ziva to her desk.

Anne felt horrible, she never meant to come across of accusing Jethro of anything. She could tell that these people were more than just co-workers, more than even just a team. " I….I….apologize if it seemed as if I was accusing Jethro of any mistreatment, it's just the man I have come to know over the past few weeks is not the one I have seen today. The Jethro I have known is kind, sweet, funny not….not like this."

Ziva turned back out of Tony's arms and looked at Anne. "What do you mean…like this? Do you know that as Tony mentioned Gibbs has over 50 unwritten rules you must learn when you work with him? Hm?"

"How can you learn them if they are unwritten?" Anne asked inquisitively. She was starting to think that there were many layers to Jethro Gibbs.

"I asked the same question. Do you know what his answer was? " Ziva said as she leaned back on the desk again and this time dropped her voice. "He said that it was his job to teach them to me. Not make me learn them, not memorize and regurgitate, but teach." Ziva then stood up and went to her desk and slammed her hand down in frustration. Frustration at the lady, and frustration that they seemed no closer to finding Abby.

McGee, always the diplomat, stepped towards Anne and asked her one question. "When you said that the Jethro you knew was not like this one….how do you think the Jethro you know would act when his youngest child missing?"

Anne immediately jumped up and exclaimed. "Abby is Gibbs daughter….He never told me….I just assumed.."

Ziva looked over to Anne and answered for the team. "Biological daughter…no, but daughter in his heart…yes. I once asked Gibbs if he was lonely? Do you know how he answered it."

Anne just shook her head no, she knew that there was no telling what Jethro had said.

Ziva just grinned as she remembered how softly and certain he was when they had had that conversation. "He leaned into my hair, gave me a gentle kiss and said that you are never alone when you have kids. And then he told me bye, kid. Gibbs may not be any of our biological fathers, but in each and every one of our hearts, he is our dad. Through the good times and the bad."

Tony stepped back behind his desk and sat back down and grabbed his phone to continue to make more calls, but before he did he looked over at Anne and said. "And that makes us all brothers and sisters. So not only is Gibbs looking for his youngest child, we are looking for our baby sister. So pardon any underlying hostility, it is a little touchy here."

Anne sat back down and watched the team get back to work, trying every angle, every phone number and every lead they had but with no luck. All of a sudden from above Anne hears the MTAC door slam, and Gibbs mumbling some not so choice words. "Did you find her?" Even though she had yet to meet her yet, she felt true concern for Abby and now that she had an inkling of an idea on the unique dynamics of this team or better yet family.

Gibbs headed down the steps looking to see four pair of eyes now full of fear instead of three. Maybe Anne would be able to hang with his 'kids'. "Just received a call from Fornell saying that he might have a good solid tip on where she might be. Damn Tobias…where are you?" Gibbs said as he was now standing in front of the elevator still growling when the doors opened and out walked Agents Fornell and Sacks.

"Ahhh. Great! My second favorite dynamic duo!" Tony groaned as Agt. Sacks now stood in front of his desk.

"Can it Dinozzo!" Gibbs yelled. "So whatcha got for me?" Gibbs asked Fornell.

"After I received your call from MTAC I started asking around. Found out that last night, early this morning the FBI raided that so called club and arrested all the patrons. I called the lead agent and asked him to look for the name Abigail Scuito and he said that the name was not on his list." Fornell said.

"Damn it Tobias…you said you had something!" Gibbs ground out.

"I am getting to it. So as I started thinking that Abby knew that you had told her not to go and she knows the consequences of disobeying that maybe she gave them a false name. So I called back the lead agent and asked if he had anyone fitting that description. He said he had 3 young ladies that fit my description. I asked for their names and the one that stuck out to me was a young lady by the name of Caitlyn DiNutso."

"What?" Tony half laughed and half yelled. "You have got to be kidding me….I mean…come on Boss….we all know how you feel about coincidences, and there can't be anything more strange than that."

"Where?" Gibbs clipped out as he rounded his desk to grab his coat, and grab Anne's hand to leave. He was not wasting any time to find out if this was Abby.

"They are holding all of them at the downtown office. They know to be expecting you." Fornell yelled as he saw Gibbs and Anne walk into the elevator.

Fornell raised his eyebrows in question to the lady.

"Don't know." Tony answered with a grin. "Don't care, I just hope this is Abby."

Gibbs escorted Anne to one of the NCIS cars, opened her door and let her get situated, closed it and headed for his own. As he sat down in the driver's seat the impact of that this might be Abby hit him and he laid his head on the steering wheel trying to hide the tears that were threatening to fall. The overwhelming emotions coursing through his veins were soon dampened by the anger that she had done this against his wishes. She had lied to the FBI and not called one of them as her one call.

Anne gently put her hand on his shoulder and spoke his name. "Jethro?" Anne was shocked when she noticed the sheen of unshed tears in his eyes. She had seen this type of emotion before, the tears of relief of a lost child found and then the anger of the child's actions that led to the separation. She now began to see Jethro and this team as what they really were….a family.

Gibbs started the car and headed for the FBI office, Tobias was going to meet them there. Gibbs was not going to let Abby off the hook so easy. "If this is Abby….and my gut says it is…she is in…..when I get my hands on her….."

Anne could tell that Gibbs was trying to rein in his emotions before he got to the FBI building. " I can only imagine what it would be like to lose a child…..especially a daughter" Anne felt tears building up in her eyes as she tried to imagine what it might feel like to lost someone so close.

As they pulled into the parking lot of the FBI building, Gibbs parked the car and took a deep breath. He turned to Anne and decided there was no need to hide anything else from her. He was going to let her see what he had been through and then decide if he was still worth the effort. "Anne…..I have been married four times…..three divorces."

"So….you are married?" Anne asked as she quickly withdrew her hands from his.

"No….let me finish hard head. My first wife was named Shannon, we were married for 10 years and we had an eight year old daughter named Kelly. " Gibbs took another deep breath and continued. He looked down as he saw that Anne had joined their hands once again. "20 years ago they were killed by a hit from a Mexican drug cartel. After that, I closed off my heart to any kind of feelings, but 10 years ago I was given then chance to lead my own team. I was gifted with a brilliant, but young forensic specialist who knew no conditions on love. Who took me into her heart, ignored the usual gruff that had everyone else running and opened my eyes to love again. She was around the same age as Kelly would have been if she was still alive. I then took Tony on my team, a young brilliant detective, but whose father had abandoned when he was little and showed the maturity of a thirteen year old. Then I added Caitlyn Todd, a former Secret Service agent for the president, gifted agent, but needed stability. Then I added Timothy McGee, green from the academy and had no self confidence."

"All of them needing something, some guidance, some attention." Anne said as she started to understand fully this marvelous man.

"Not just them needing, I needed. But, it was never more that a working relationship until the day that a rogue Mossad agent assassinated Caitlyn." Gibbs stopped as he heard Anne quietly gasp. He squeezed her hand and continued. "I had lost men in combat before, but never a female. But my whole mindset of how I felt about my agents changed when the night that Caitlyn had been killed, I had went for coffee. I was walking in front of the window that looks down into Abby's lab. I heard a pszing, the breaking of glass and then Abby scream. All that ran through my head was …..not again….no God….not again."

"Was Abby ok?" Anne asked as tears silently rolled down her face.

Gibbs reached over and swiped one of the tears off her face with his thumb and nodded. "Yeah, shaken, scared but not hurt. I realized that he was trying to kill the females on my team because of me…As I held a visably shaken Abby in my arms I promised her that I would do whatever it took to keep her safe. And I meant every word of it." Gibbs said as he looked deeply in Anne's eyes, trying to see any sign of disgust or fear. "All seemed to resume back to normal after Ari's death, Ziva had killed him protecting me. Ziva joined the team and I was determined to do keep all of my team safe, but later that year, Abby had a crazy ex-boyfriend that had been stalking her for months, and she did not let any of us know. She went and took out a restraining order and never gave me a hint that there was a problem. She stayed with Mcgee one night and the guy found her, he even managed to sneak his way onto base and actually call her and watch her from her window. It was then that I decided the only safe place for her was at my house. I had went to bed and came back down to see what the noise was when what I say broke my heart." Gibbs paused and felt the tears start to build up again. He sniffed and continued on. "Abby had changed into one of my old USMC shirts, found my hidden bourbon and was attempting to work on my boat. It was at that moment, Abby emotionally bare from the alcohol, reminded me of Kelly. The way she wore my shirt, just like Kelly used to love to, the way she worked on the boat, like Kelly used to, the way that in her mental state, she needed love and reassurance that everything was going to be ok, just like my daughter did made me realize that in my heart Abby was my daughter, that each of the agents on my team were my surrogate children. I would move heaven and earth to keep them safe. So afterwards, some ground work had to be laid. There was rules to be followed and consequences for not following them. That is why I am so upset with Abby….If this is Abby…I told her she was not to go to this club…and she lied to the FBI."

"But, on earth can you think that the name Caitlyn Dinutso would be Abby?" Anne asked.

"Easy. Abby and Caitlyn Todd, the agent that was killed were very close, and second Fornell calls Dinozzo, Dinutso just to make Tony mad. Only Abby would put those two names together." Gibbs said with a tightness in his jaw.

"You are one upset father…..who it looks like is going to have to get his baby girl from the slammer." Anne said with a crooked grin. Now that she heard him tell her this story, she had a deeper understanding to the many complex layers of Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

Gibbs leaned over, took Anne's head in his hands and kissed her. "Thank you so much. I can never repay you for all your time, just having you here makes a difference. Feels like…"

"Like you don't have to do this alone. Nope, you're right. Not alone." Anne watched as he exited the car and made his way around to her door. As she stood up to walk with him she tugged his hand as smiled. "As for paying me back….I think I can come with a few ideas." She said as she moved her eyebrows up and down. Gibbs was stunned until he realized that she was now leading, pulling his hand toward the entrance. "Come on, let go round up one wayward daughter."


	4. Chapter 4

What may be?

Ch4

_**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING!**_

_**THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL THE REVIEWS! KEEP THEM COMING! **_

_**Warning: A few Swats here, more discipline in later chapter.**_

Abby was silently sitting in the cell with the rest of the females the FBI had rounded up at the raid. She had refused to give them her real name, for the fear that someone would recognize it. She had refused to use her one call to call anyone for help, because she knew they would have to tell Gibbs and she certainly did not want Gibbs to find out that she had been arrested, especially at a place he specifically told her not to go. Having Dad upset that she had been arrested would have been bad enough, but to top it off with a direct disobedience, well she didn't have a death wish. She knew that they didn't have anything against her, so it was just a matter of time before they released her, even if she had to post her own bail, she would be free soon. Abby was so deep in thought that she failed to notice that the guard had been yelling for Caitlyn Dinutso until her cell mate bumped her shoulder.

"Honey, I think they calling you." The raven haired prostitute said.

"Oh, Caitlyn. Yeah, that's me." Abby jumped up and ran toward the open door. "So, I guess I am getting out of here." Abby said with a smile to the guard.

"Don't know….I was just told to bring you into interrogation one." The guard said as they reached the room and the guard let her in. "Someone will be with you in a minute."

" OK, thanks." Abby said as she scanned the room. It was similar to the ones they had at NCIS, so she knew that what looked like a mirror was actually a two way mirror. So that people could observe the interrogation and not be seen. " Hellooooo! Any one there? I'm ready to go now!" Abby said as she gently pounded on the mirror. Abby was getting ready to knock on the mirror again, when the door suddenly opened and in walked one of the FBI agents that had arrested her. Abby bounced over to him and asked, " So, I can go now?"

The FBI agent turned towards the table and just said. "Have a seat, Ms. Dinutso."

Abby did not like the tone in the agents voice. So she sat down and waited for the agent to start talking.

"Miss Dinutso….if that really is your name?" The agent asked as he opened a file.

"Well, um…..yeah…. I mean that is what I told you." Abby said as she started to squirm in her chair.

"Yes, we know, and even the ID we found on you said Caitlyn Dinutso…so can you explain that when we tried to process that name through the local ID server, they could not locate a match to that name. Can you explain how…." The agent was interrupted by a knock at the door. He looked irritated by the interruption, but still stood to answer the door. After a quick word whispered in his ear, he turned back to Abby. "It seems that I am being removed off this case, and pulled on a more urgent one, so another lead agent is taking over for me…..maybe you will be more truthful with him." The agent the left the room and closed the door.

Abby, nervous from being so close to being busted, was relieved with this change of personnel. Maybe, just maybe, she can sway this one into believing her. Abby stood up and started pacing back and forth in front of the mirror, talking to herself aloud, forgetting temporarily that there was a chance she was not alone. "Sheesh! That was close. I was afraid I was busted. Just keep it clean and easy, just like Tony says." Abby little siliiloquy was interrupted by a knock at the door. Abby was still facing the wall when she said to whoever entered the room. "I am so glad to have a new agent the last one was…" Abby stopped her rambling when she turned and saw the last FBI agent that she would ever want to see. "To-Tobias, what are you doing here?"

"Well, it seems that there were a few people they could not identify. I scanned over the aliases that they had been given and what to my surprise do I see? A Caitlyn Dinutso." Tobias said with a smile. "So you know the Gibbs theory of coincendences?"

"Oh! God! Did you tell Gibbs?" Abby asked with a quiver in her voice.

"Abby….Do you know what he has been going through?" Tobias said with a stern edge to his voice. He knew that if Emily had pulled this kind of stunt, he would be just as upset as Gibbs was now.

Abby was perplexed by Tobias's question." Going through?"

"Yeah..going through? He and the rest of your team have been searching for you for hours?" Tobias said with a growl. He took a step towards Abby, he was tempted to throttle her for Gibbs right now.

Abby took a step back, backing up to the mirror. She had never seen Tobias this angry before. "OHHHHH! If Gibbs has been looking for me, that means that Tony tattled on me! When I get my hands on him…." Then the realization that Tobias had never answered her question hit her. "Oh, NO….he does know!" Abby said as she sat down at the table and put her head in her hands.

Tobias walked over to Abby and put his hand on her shoulder. "I'll be right back." Tobias said as he left the room and headed next door to the observation room. Tobias opened the door to see Gibbs and Anne watching Abby through the glass. "She's all yours, Jethro. If the situation ever arises where Emily is in a similar predictament, I grant you permission to step in until I get her."

"Thanks Tobias, I will." Gibbs said as Tobias closed the door and left Gibbs and Anne alone again. Gibbs turned back to see Anne still watching Abby through the glass. Gibbs walked over and grabbed her hand and squeezed. "What do you see?"

"Well, I see a young, lady. But, is that her club attire she is wearing?" Anne asked as she noticed the black skirt, black boots and collar.

Gibbs had to smile a little at Anne's question, it was a sure thing that Abby's choice in clothing was always a subject of interest. "Nope…That is her everyday attire. In fact, if I am correct that is what she left work in on Friday night."

"Oh, ok. Well, I can tell by the way she is sitting with her head in her hands that she feels like she has no control of whatever is about to happen. I also see a young lady, that is self-confident, strong willed and hard headed, just like her dad. But I also saw that the only time I saw fear in her eyes was when it she asked if you knew where she was. So that shows that she knows that there will be repercussions for her actions. She also knows what she did was wrong, but like a child, was trying to deflect the total responsibility off herself, by insinuating that Tony tattled. Abby knew what she was doing when she went to that bar after you told her not to, but she had no intention of you finding out. Now that she has a pretty good idea that you know, she knows she will have to face the consequences, whatever they may be?" Anne turned to her side to look at Jethro. She had witnessed the initial relief when Abby had been brought into the room, she then saw the anger replace the relief when he realized that all of this had happened because Abby had disobeyed him. Now she saw the face of a father wanting to go to his daughter, hold her tight to make sure this was real. "Jethro, I don't think Abby can take much more…or you either." Anne pushed Jethro towards the door. "Go….go on. I will still be here."

Jethro just smiled at her, gave her a quick kiss and left the room.

Anne watched as Tobias entered the door first. She saw the initial relief flood Abby's face. But Anne watched the relief quickly turn to fear as Abby watched Tobias stop at the door way and let Jethro in. All Anne could do was giggle as she heard Abby's first words.

"Um.. Hi Dad." Abby said hesitantly. Abby started chewing on her bottom lip and twisting her hands.

Gibbs, taken aback at the casual greeting, totally forgot that Anne was watching in the next room as he took two long strides, grabbed Abby by her upper arm, twisted her around and landed two hard SWAT! SWAT! To Abby's backside.

Anne and Abby both gasped simultaneously. Anne from the surprise of what Jethro had done and Abby from the pain from the two swats.

Gibbs not so gently pushed Abby down in the chair and growled out, "Unless you want more right now, I suggest you keep your ass planted in that chair until I tell you to get up. Is that clear?"

"Crystal." Abby answered with a gulp! Abby looked up to see if she could use her puppy dog eyes on Tobias, trying to get him to run interference.

Tobias, knowing what Abby was wanting, stood in the corner behind the door and answered her silent plea. "First off, I am here just to make sure Jethro doesn't lose his cool, and second off, if you were my daughter Emily, I wouldn't have stopped at two."

Abby just swallowed and stared at the table. She was lost in her own world of pity until her felt and heard Gibbs SLAM! His hands on the table.

"What part of, you are not allowed to go to this club was unclear to you? Did I omit a few keywords like no, no and no?" Gibbs yelled out.

Abby just shook her head.

"Words, Abigail!"

Abby looked up with tears in her eyes. "N-n-no."

"Then why? Do you have any idea of just how worried I have been? What about your brothers and sister? Huh? What did you think was going through Dinozzo's head when he could not reach you when you failed to check in?" Gibbs continued to yell at her. He couldn't believe just how selfish Abby could be at sometimes.

Abby just shook her head side to side and murmured, "No!" SNIFFLE! Now Abby realized just how much pain she had out her family through, just for one night of fun.

Gibbs looked at Abby and continued on, he couldn't stop just because she was crying. "Why?" Gibbs asked more softly.

"Be-be-because I wanted to go…..an-an-and it seemed so un-un-unfair that you-you-you said no." Abby stammered out through the tears. Abby's sense of self-preservation was starting to wane as she felt that she was being treated unfairly. "But….but, you would ha-ha-have let Ziva, Tony or McGee go…..probably. It's just no-no-not fair! You are so-so-so mean to me sometimes, and only me." Abby said with a sniffle. She was really getting worked up. If Abby had been smart she would have seen the fire redevelop in Gibbs eyes at her accusations, but she was on a roll and had no intention of stopping. She wanted Gibbs to see that this was as much his fault as hers. "Some-sometimes, I think that…you don't like me at all. You think I a little girl who is so incapable of taking care of herself that you have to limit what she does. You don't treat the others that way.. Just me….so I had to prove myself….I had to.."

"YOU WHAT?" Gibbs yelled out as he felt the urge to take Abby over his knee right here in front of Tobias. He started walking around the table to grab her when there was a sharp knock on the glass. He had been so involved in Abby that he had forgotten about Anne. "Damn!" Gibbs muttered as he turned to look at the mirror. He hadn't meant to act like this in front of her. Gibbs turned back to Abby and growled out, "You…corner…now!" Gibbs watched Abby start to ask who was behind the glass, but he quickly cut her off with a single glare. Gibbs exited the room and went into the observation room. As he opened the door, he was met with Anne's eyes full of concern and a slight smirk on her lips. Gibbs put his hands in the air and started out with saying, "Listen, I'm ….I'm."

"Count to 10. That's all I was going to say." Anne said with a slight grin.

"What? You mean that you're ok with…this? Gibbs said as he pointed to the other room and Abby. He watched as his youngest child was standing with her nose in the corner, shoulders jumping up and down as she was trying to contain her crying. He knew that some people would see his treatment of Abby as tyrannical or outdated.

"At first..when I witness you headslap Tony, I was dumbfounded. But, after talking to each of your kids, sans Abby, I realized that whatever method you use with your team or 'family' works. When you were in MTAC, I never once heard one of the complain about any mistreatment, and I can take a good guess that you treat all you 'kids' the same. Right?" Anne asked.

"Well, yeah, if any of them had done something as stupid as this I would treat them the same way." Gibbs explained.

"What way?" Anne asked with a sense of purpose, trying to get Gibbs to open up to her.

"You know.. I would make sure they understand why they were in trouble, I would dish out whatever punishment and then all is forgiven, a clean slate, and life goes on." Gibbs stated as he continued to stare at Abby. "Sometimes, I think we are doing so good, and then…Boom, they do something dangerous or stupid and we end up in situations like this."

Anne came up behind Jethro, put her hand on his shoulder and leaned up and placed her head on his shoulder. "Sounds like they are certain enough in your love and guidance that they try to test their boundaries. More than likely they never had the freedom as young children to screw up and know that they were still going to be loved. So, go back in there, get your daughter, and let's take her back to the house."

Jethro turned around and looked at Anne. "I know this seems a little early….but Anne Tormey…..you are a wonderful, beautiful woman….I…."

Gibbs was cut off as Anne leaned up and kissed Gibbs. "I know…go get her…I'll meet you in the hall."

Gibbs smiled and quickly answered, "Yes ma'am." Gibbs exited the room and headed next door. As he put his hand on the door, he watched Anne exit the observation room and nod her head towards the room. Gibbs entered the room and spoke to Abby. "Come on. We are going home."

Abby turned out of the corner and looked at Gibbs. Seeing disappointment in his eyes, Abby started to apologize. "I'm sorry. I.,,,I didn't think."

Gibbs waited until she was at his side before he put his arm around her and pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. He held his face close to her head as he breathed in her familiar scent. "God….I thought I had lost you."

"I wasn't ever lost Gibbs…I" Abby attempted to explain, but was interrupted by Gibbs.

"I didn't know that….but for now…there is someone I want you to meet. Her name is Anne, and you owe her a thanks. She was the one that knocked on the window when I was getting ready to take you over my knee right then and there. Listen, she's good. So, let's go." Gibbs said as he kept his arm around Abby and headed out the door. He saw Anne in the hall and walked towards her. He looked at Anne and said, "Anne, this is Abby Scuito, Abby, this is Anne Tormey, a…my…." Gibbs didn't know exactly what to call her.

"I think Jethro is embarrassed to introduce you to me as his girlfriend." Anne said with a quick raise of her eyebrow, letting Gibbs know what he was trying to say. Anne stuck out her hand and waited until the shock wore off. Abby never returned the favor. She turned to look at Gibbs, then looked at Anne. Anne figured that Abby would be the hardest one to connect with, sensing that she had always been the baby. But she never figured Abby to be rude.

Gibbs was flabbergasted. He could not believe how Abby was acting. "Abigail." Gibbs said with an underlying warning.

"Jethro…"Abby mimicked Anne.

That did it. Gibbs was tired of playing Mr. Nice Guy. He grabbed Abby by the arm and hall walked, half drug her to the car. He opened the back door, and pushed her none to gently into the seat. He slammed the door and looked over the top of the car at Anne. Anne just shrugged her shoulders and opened her door and sat down in the car.

Gibbs started the car and headed towards his house. He was silently fuming, he was taken aback at how rude Abby was being towards Anne.

Anne was not going to give up without a fight. She turned back to Abby and tried to start a conversation with her. "Listen Abby, I know that this is not the most opportune time to be introduced but…"

"Listen Anne…..I have a headache, I am tired and dirty and I agree with you….this is not the most opportune time….so." Abby spit out. How dare her dad bring along a 'girlfriend' to pick her up. He must have spent the night with her since they were together so early today. She was brought out of her musings by one angry voice.

"Abigail Scuio GIBBS! You apologize for being rude! Anne is just trying to break the ice here, but you won't even give her a chance. I suggest you keep your mouth shut unless you have something nice to say. You are only digging yourself a deeper hole." The car was filled with utter silence for the rest of the drive. The tension was almost palpable it was so heavy in the car. Gibbs broke the silence as he pulled into his driveway. He put the car into park, cut off the ignition and turned to look back at Abby. "You…upstairs to your room and wait for me. We have some things to discuss." Gibbs stepped out of the car and watched as Abby slammed the car door and attempted to stomp off into the house. Abby made it as far as into the stairway when she felt her arm grabbed again and she was yanked face to face with Gibbs. "Do not push me now Abigail." Gibbs landed one more heavy SWAT! As he pushed her up the stairs. He turned to explain to Anne, who was now standing in the middle of his bare living room, that he surprised by Abby's actions when he heard another car pull up his drive and cut off the engine. He looked out to see Tony, Ziva and McGee walking towards his door.

Before he could ask what was going on, Ziva entered the foyer and answered the perplexed look on his face. "Some little birdie called us and told us to meet you here. That you might need the support of your family as you deal with Abby, so here we are. What do you need?"

"Yeah, it must be really bad if you need support? So what did the baby do this time?" Tony asked as he walked past Gibbs and headed straight for the kitchen.

McGee quickly interjected before Anne got the wrong impression. "Tony means Abby. I mean she is the youngest, and she can get away with more than anybody else…I mean…" McGee started to stutter as he saw the look as ZIva and Tony were shaking their heads to stop talking now.

"OK….Ok….enough….You three stooges….take Anne outside….Tony start up the grill…I need to go talk to Abby." Gibbs said as he watched his three oldest start towards the back door. Gibbs called out, "Anne. Wait."

Anne stopped, wondering if she had overstepped her reach with calling Tony and asking him and the gang to help out. "Ummmmm. …Listen Jethro….I apologize if I went too far calling To….."

Gibbs stopped her by kissing her. As he broke off the kiss, he kept his forehead touching hers and he whispered, "Rule #3….Never apologize….it's a sign of weakness." Gibbs kissed her again and added. "Go….make sure Tony doesn't burn down the neighborhood." Gibbs gently patted her on the butt as she scooted past him.

"Jethro!" She said with a laugh.

"What?" He asked innocently. He saw her wave him on upstairs and he took a deep breath and headed to deal with Abby.

PLEASE REVIEW! I LOVE EVERYONE OPINION!


	5. Chapter 5

What may be

Ch 5

**THANKS TO ALL THE WONDERFUL REVIEWS! KEEP THEM COMING!**

**WARNING: SPANKING IN THIS CHAPTER, IF NOT YOUR THING YOU CAN SKIP THIS CHAPTER UNTIL NEXT UPDATE. It will still make sense.**

_**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING!**_

Gibbs trudged heavily up the stairs to the girl's room where Abby awaited him. He first made a detour into his room and sat on the bed. He has had to deal with Abby before for disobeying, but this rude side of Abby was new. As Gibbs was thinking on the best way to deal with her regarding this issue he remembered this was not new for Abby. He remembered just how Abby treated Ziva when she was first added to the team. He remembered the sarcasm in her voice as she purposefully mispronounced Ziva's name. He remembered her little smirk at any inconvenience Ziva encountered. It was then that Gibbs realized that Abby was not mad at Anne, she was afraid of Anne. Gibbs stood up and decided to start this discussion now. As he walked to the room, he saw the door partially closed, but sure enough, Abby was still standing in the corner as she was instructed. Gibbs knocked softly on the door to gain her attention and then entered the room.

Abby had been the room staring at the corner for what seemed like an eternity, but in actuality was less than five minutes. As she stood there she thought back to what led her here and what was next.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Come in…" Abby sniffled as she remained in the corner, she knew better than to leave unless she was told to.

"Sit on the bed,Abby." Gibbs said firmly as he grabbed the desk chair and turned to face Abby. He saw the red puffy eyes, the gnawed off lipstick and knew that she knew that she was in deep trouble, but he wanted her to vocalize just how much trouble she was in. "Abigail, what in…"

The weight of guilt had been piling on Abby since she had been home and now she felt like she was going to smother. "Gibbs….I-I-I am so sorry….I …..I….." Abby dropped her head and stared at the floor as she tried to put her emotions into words.

"You what, Abby?" Gibbs asked gently, but still with a sense of firmness in his tone.

"I….know I shouldn't have gone to the club. But, I really,really wanted to…..and when you told me no…..I got mad. I didn't think, I just reacted." Abby said still looking at her feet.

Gibbs put his hand under her chin and raised her head up to where they were looking eye to eye. "Look at me. Why were you mad? Do you think I was just telling you no to spoil your fun?" Gibbs asked sincerely.

Abby's eyes darted all around the room, she knew what Gibbs was getting at, she just hated to admit it. "At first….yeah. I did." Abby watched the conflict of emotion race across Gibbs face. He was pleased she told the truth, but mad that she felt that way to begin with. " I mean…..Ziva gets sent off to exotic places for assignments, Tony can go wherever he pleases and Tim never has to get permission to go somewhere. If any of them had asked you would have said."

Gibbs stopped Abby there. "If they were wanting to go to the same club, I would have told them the exact same thing. NO! It wasn't because of you going to a club, have I ever complained about your clubbing before?"

Abby realized that he hadn't and knew that Gibbs was making his point. "No….but, I thought ….."

Gibbs reached out and placed his hand on Abby's cheek and started to speak. "There are times when what you **think** and what I **know **are going to clash. But, what I **know** is based on not just wanting to stop you, but from gathered intelligence, interagency cooperation not just my head. So when I tell you not to go somewhere, you can bet it is because I **know **something is not right and I do not want you hurt."

Abby knew that fight was over, now to deal with the consequences. "Yes, dad." Abby sighed.

Gibbs sensed Abby conceding defeat and now he was ready to push on through the difficult part. Gibbs sat up straighter and looked at Abby. "Ok, so you know you are trouble…what for exactly?"

Abby hated this part, if she said what she had done wrong, then she had to admit it was wrong. Abby took a deep breath and started. " I disobeyed you by going to the club."

"And?" Gibbs asked.

"And? That's all." Abby answered. She had an inkling of what Gibbs wanted but she was not going to volunteer anymore wrong doing than necessary.

"What about lying to the FBI?" Gibbs asked as his voice was starting to get louder.

"I-I- that was to the FBI, I didn't lie to you." Abby argued back.

"So, you don't think that your lying to the FBI relates to me. Your childish actions of lying about your name and then refusing to call anyone, had large repercussion on me and this family. Do you know we thought you might have been kidnapped again? Abby…most people are never abducted…..you have been three times. The thoughts of not getting you back were gut wrenching." Gibbs sat back for a minute and thought and then smirked as he spoke to Abby. "Ok, I can understand your perspective, so I will call Tobias and let him come over here and deal with you in regards to the misbehavior at the FBI."

Abby's eyes lit up momentarily as she thought that she might get a lesser punishment from Tobias, but before that joy could go deep Gibbs interrupted her thoughts.

"But, FYI, he told me while we were at the station, that if Emily ever pulled something as stupid as this, that I could take care of her until he arrived. He uses the same methods of discipline that I do. Tobias even told me that he wanted to make sure that you understood the severity of your actions, so I will just call him now and tell him that you want him to come deal with you." Gibbs said as he started to open his phone. He knew that Abby would never go for the idea of anyone else spanking her, so as soon as the message cleared her head, she reached over and closed his phone.

"Ummmm…well…..Ok….I get your point." Abby sighed again.

"I though so." Gibbs said as he tried to keep his smile hidden. "Well, let's get down to the consequences. First, you are grounded for 2 weeks to here. It will be to work with me and back home with me. There will be no TV, computers or music for the first of the two weeks, if I deem your attitude worthy you can earn back these privilages. You know the punishment for disobeying so we will deal with that now, then tonight before bed we will deal with the lying." Gibbs spoke with a tone that left no  
>room for argument, but Abby had stopped listening at disobeying.<p>

"But…..NO…..SHE'S HERE! She will know!" Abby argued. There was no way she wanted Anne to know what happened to the kids when they misbehave.

"Yeah, regarding her….her name is Anne. You have been extremely rude and inconsiderate to her since you met. You owe her an apology and a thank you. We will discuss your poor behavior to her tomorrow." Gibbs said.

Abby knew there was no changing Gibbs mind, so she asked. "I understand the apology, but why should I thank her for anything. She …" Abby was cut off by Gibbs.

"SHE….." Gibbs emphasized, "saved your ass from a full spanking at the FBI building. That knocking on the glass was her. She realized what I was about to do and stopped me. When I stepped out to see what was needed, she just told me to count to 10. If she hadn't been there, Tobias would have had a front row seat as I would have roasted your ass."

Abby gulped loudly as she thought that maybe she hadn't given Anne a fair chance. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt her feelings or anything. I….I was embarrassed that she witnessed what she had, and I was scared that she would replace me…..us….your… not really your kids, kids." Abby said with a sniffle as she felt herself being pulled up by Gibbs.

SMACK!

"What?" This swat to her backside was totally unexpected.

"That was for thinking of you and your siblings as not my kids." Gibbs said as he pulled her into a tight embrace. He kissed the top of her head and said. " No one will ever replace you…..a father's love has no boundaries. It has an endless supply to give. And….as much as this dad loves all his children…..a little adult affection from a beautiful woman…will never take away from any on you. Just give her a chance." Gibbs said as he stood back and looked down at Abby. Taking a deep breath he said, "Ok, let's get this over with."

Gibbs went to sit in the hardback desk chair, raised it up and waited for Abby to come to him.

Abby knew what was to come, she knew it would hurt, but she knew her dad would never hurt her really. She slowly stood to the side of Gibbs and leaned over his knees. This position left no room for her to doubt that her dad was giving this punishment, not her boss. Abby took a deep breath and held it, waiting for the first swat to fall.

SMACK! SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!

Abby did not want anyone to hear what was going on so instead of her normal cries, Abby was biting her lip to keep from making any noise.

Gibbs knew what she was doing, but knew that before this was done, she would not be able to be silent.

SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!

The fire was quickly building in Abby's backside and her attempts to keep quiet were soon over as she felt Gibbs raise up her skirt and started peppering her ass with hard licks.

"OW!OW!I'm sorrrrryyy!" Abby yelled out, all efforts to keep quiet were forgotten as Gibbs proceeded to rain down heavy swat after swat.

SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!

SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!

"OWWWW!ARGHHHHHH!" Abby yelled after each lick. Her ass felt like it was on fire and that she would never sit again, but it wasn't until she felt Gibbs stop and reach into his pocket that she knew she was really in trouble.

Gibbs hated pulling out the paddle, but he wanted to make sure she knew how wrong she was in disobeying him. " When I tell you kids no….it is not to take your fun away… it is for a reason. To keep you safe. Remember this the next time." He accentuated each phrase with a lick of the paddle.

SWAT! SWAT! SWAT!

"UGHHHH!OWWWWWW!" Abby cried out as Gibbs was not holding anything back. She was kicking her legs to block the next swat until Gibbs popped her on the top of her thighs. "AHHHH!"

Gibbs knew it was time to wind this down so he shitfted Abby forward so her sit spots, the area where her thighs and ass meet, the area that she sits on, was prime target.

"When I say no, " SWAT! "I mean no." SWAT! "Can't protect you." SWAT! "If you don't listen."SWAT! "Love you too much" SWAT! "To bury you!" SWAT!

Abby gave up the fight and just hung her head at the depth of Gibbs words, crying out of pain but also because she knew she had inadvertently hurt him.

Gibbs stopped the paddling as soon as she dropped the fight. He tossed it on the bed and rubbed circles on her back. "SHHHH! This parts over." Gibbs whispered as she tried to stand up.

HISS! Abby exclaimed as her skirt came back down on her crimson red ass. "So-so-so-sorr-sorry, d-d-d-dad." Abby said into Gibbs arms, the combination of the spanking and the no sleep last night had Abby rubbing her eyes like a tired toddler.

"S'OK. .Lay down, take a nap, I'll…." Gibbs tried to soothe Abby.

"Not a baby." Abby said with a yawn. "Not tired." She tried to argue, but was comforted by Gibbs stroking her hair.

He just quietly laughed at just how much Abby and Kelly resembled each other at times like this. He thought back to the many battles he had to fight to get Kelly to take a nap. "OK, not a nap, just rest your eyes for one minute." Gibbs said as he turned her towards the bed, gently guiding her to lay on her stomach and covered her with the blanket. "Going to go check and make sure my backyard is not in flames." Gibbs said as he leaned over and kissed her head.

Abby's eyes were already closed, and she was sniffling still in her light sleep, but she knew that Gibbs was comforting and reassuring her of his love before he left.

Gibbs went back to his room, put the paddle up and headed down stairs. He stopped at the backdoor and watched the goings on with a smile. Tony was chasing McGee around with a water balloon, Ziva was sitting on the picnic table laughing and Anne was perched in a sun chair, taking the whole fiasco in. She didn't seem put off at these childish antics, she seemed to enjoy them. He assumptions of that were solidified as he watched Anne sneak out of the chair, and go behind the bushes. What he saw next had him surprised!

HMMM! WHAT COULD THAT BE?

REVIEW!PLEASE!

The next chapter is from the outside of the house while Gibbs dealt with Abby on the inside.


	6. Chapter 6

What may be

Ch 6

_**Sorry so long for the update. Just finished my last finals!**_

_**DISCLAIMER: Same as in chapter 1.**_

Anne had followed Tony out of the kitchen and through the back door. She didn't fail to notice the ease and familiarity the whole team had with Gibbs' house. She watched as Tony pulled the grill out from the shed and towards the back stoop. "Hey, don't forget….not too big of a flame…Don't want to tick Gibbs off any more that he is right now." Anne hollered out as she watched Tony and McGee argue over just the correct amount of charcoal needed for the food.

"Got it Anne!" McGee yelled back as she watched Tim try to take the bottle of charcoal starter fluid from Tony in a small game of tug of war. She was amazed as she watched all the 'kids' interact with each other. She watched as Ziva walked between the fighting boys non-chalentley and grabbed the fluid in one swift motion.

"Hey! " Tim and Tony yelled as they took off after Ziva.

"Nah-Nah!" Tony yelled out in a childish manner as he put his hand in his back pocket and pulled out a large lighter. "I got the fire so…Ha! Can't do anything without this." Tony said with a huge grin.

Anne just grinned as she watched the brothers and sister play along. Anne knew that she was taking a risk when she called Tony and the rest of the 'kids' to come to Gibbs house, but from her experience in psychology, she knew that Gibbs was riding the edge with Abby. The sheer fear he had of losing her and then dealing with the anger that is was Abby herself who had gotten into trouble had Gibbs teetering on a meltdown. So she thought that if the rest of the family was here, then maybe…just maybe Gibbs would see the big picture, the picture of this family of four kids and one father. She may not have been told what was going to happen upstairs but she had a pretty good idea that it was something that Abby wouldn't want any company for so she decided to hang out down here.

"Money for your thoughts?" Ziva asked as she stopped by Anne who was now perched on the picnic table.

Tony rolled his eyes as he nudged Ziva and said, "Penny…..it's penny for your thoughts…Zi…..not money."

"So…a penny is money so….Nevermind." Ziva said as she turned her eyes to look at Anne. "Well, then penny."

Anne took a deep breath as she watched the 'kids' surround her. " Well, besides the obvious…I mean….if I had one question it would be….why?"

Ziva cocked her head to the side. "Why what?"

Tim looked at Ziva and then answered. " I think Anne wants to know why we let ourselves be treated like kids sometimes, why we would let Gibbs…well you….." Tim stammered as he nodded his head to the Abby's window.

"You mean, why we would let Gibb's blister our asses?" Tony said as he hopped up beside her on the picnic table. "Well…..let me tell you a little story. My father never took an active role in my raising, so I pretty much was used to getting away with anything. There were no "rules and consequences" from him. My only rule for him was to get out of his way. So I did. I was sent to military schools and then I made it to college. All without any help from my father, so some of the normal antics that most people outgrow, I never did. When I joined NCIS, I had been a Baltimore detective, I was a little on the cocky side. Even as a detective, my value to the department was so high, that many little "incidences" just got brushed under the rug. I had never had anyone interested in my well-being since my nanny. So the first few cases with Gibbs, I probably pushed some boundaries I shouldn't have. Gibbs has these rules that we are supposed to learn and abide by, but I thought I was above any rules, that when they saw how valuable I was to NCIS, they would let me slide with breaking a few of them. Gibbs warned me many times to quit the risk taking, that if I was going to continue to push his buttons like a child, he would handle me like a child, but as usual I ignored his warnings and did what I thought was best." Tony just snickered. "I mean seriously, I had been threatened with consequences before, but no one had ever actually followed through with their warnings. Well…there was a situation where a bomb had been located in a trailer, the same trailer as a majority of our evidence against this supposed terrorist group. Gibbs ordered all of us to clear out of the trailer until the bomb squad arrived. But as we were exiting, I saw that the timer on the bomb had been triggered and it was not counting down from 5 minutes. I tried to explain to Gibbs that I thought I could defuse the bomb, he disagreed, told me no, to get back. As soon as I saw that the rest of the agents were clear, I snuck back into the trailer through a side door. I was messing with the wires when I heard the undeniable growl of one pissed off marine. The next thing I knew I was being drug out of the trailer and across the empty park area. I tried to argue my point about saving evidence, he argued back that no evidence was worth a life, especially mine, that when I signed up to be a part of his team, I was his. His agent, his responsibility and I was in shock, no one had wanted ME…..I mean not just my job skills, but me as a person before. I told him I was not a child, he replied that I had been acting like a child for weeks, that my testing his boundaries was my way of testing him to see if all the times that he told me that I was his…..that he meant it." Tony took a breath and finished. "He said he never says anything he doesn't mean and do. I could decide then and there to be punished for direct disobedience or I would still be a member of his team, but I would be assigned to desk duty only and would never be allowed to out in the field again."

"Good God, Tony. How stupid could you have been? A live bomb. I never knew." Tim said with a sense of disbelief.

"Come on…..this is me Tony….I thought I was invincible. And in my mind sentenced to desk duty would be torture, so I told him I would accept his punishment. He told me to go home, pack a bag and be at his house by 2000. I knew better than to argue with him when he was in this frame of mind. So I did as I was told."

"That's a first." McGee laughed out.

"Shut it Mckissup!

"Ahhh!" Anne exclaimed. "So this was your first trip to Gibb's house. What was going through your mind when told you to go home, pack a bag, and be at his house waiting for him? Were you not scared?"

"Me….scared?" Tony laughed. " Not really…I mean…..yeah. I was. All that kept going through my mind was that I had a job I truly loved, a man who I looked up to, and I had blown my chances of ever achieving anything. But that mindset only lasted until Gibb's came home. He told me to sit on the couch, and he sat across from me. He said that when he saw me enter the trailer after he had told me not to all he could see was me dying, all because I refused to listen to him. That when he gave me an order it was not a suggestion, it was for my own well being. So since I acted like a child who was told not to do something and did it anyway, he would treat me like one. So I was grounded to his house for the weekend. Which made me yell at him because I have to go out….I mean….I am a lady machine."

Ziva snickered as she rolled her eyes. "More like lady deterrent."

Tony smacked her on the arm and Ziva quickly hit him in return.

"AHEM!" Anne interjected before this got out of hand. "Continue. Please."

"Oh, yeah. Well, long story short, Gibbs told me that it was his responsibility to keep me safe, and that until I learned that there were consequences for not following his orders that I would keep putting myself in danger. So Gibbs asked me if I trusted him, of course is replied 'with my life'. I was expecting more yelling or something else, but I never thought I would see Gibbs sit beside me, and yank me over his knees. I initially squawked at this position, but Gibbs calmed me with one phrase. "It will be ok…son." No one had called me son in years, I was speechless until I felt his hand land solidly on my upturned backside. He made sure I knew just how upset he was with me verbally and physically. I told myself I would not cry, that I was a grown man, but when he said that he would not risk losing someone so important to him and that he sees so much potential in me, I lost it. So not only were his words hitting my heart hard, his hand had now built a literal fire in my ass. After what seemed like an eternity, and my ass was well roasted, he stood me up, pulled me into his arm and said to never scare him like that again. That if this type of punishment was what I needed to make sure I learned my lessons, then he would freely repeat it anytime he felt I needed it. But the next time, I would not sit down for the rest of the day. Now….I know that may seem strange to you, but when Gibbs stepped back out of the hug, I could see a shimmer of tears in his eyes. He hated to do that, but would have hated to bury me worse." Tony finished as he gauged the reaction in Anne's eyes.

"OK, then. If that is how this family works, and you are all in agreement, then I see nothing wrong with it. But if he never punishes you more severely than necessary, then why all the worry over Abby?"

It was Tim's turn to explain. "Well,…..you see….as much as this will hurt Abby physically, Gibbs would never, ever truly hurt her. But Abby wears her emotions on her sleeves, I mean, she probably started crying as soon as Gibbs entered the room. And she is more vocal and not as stoic about taking a punishement so these punishments are more difficult on Gibbs afterwards. He knows what he is doing, but he always has the smallest doubt with Abby. After all, she is…."

"The baby" Tim, Tony and Ziva said in unison.

"And even though Gibbs' may get upset with her…or us….he never wants us to change who we are. He would hate to extinguish the light that is in Abby's eyes." Tim said with a small smile.

"Speaking of light, whose ready to light up that fire!" Tony said as he flicked the long lighter on and off, pointing it towards McGee. "Fire! Fire!" Tony yelled as he started to chase after McGee. Ziva, remembering to the last cookout they had here, went back into the shed and pulled out an bag of multicolored things. Anne watched as Ziva grabbed a small bucket and headed toward the side of the house. After a few minutes of Tim yelling at Tony to stop chasing him with the lighter, she watched with surprise as Ziva stealthily made her way to behind Tony and yelled, "Bomb's Away!"

Tony was frozen in shock as a cold water balloon burst on his back. "What the hell!" He exclaimed as he turned to Ziva.

Ziva just laughed and threw two more at Tony, both hitting him in the stomach. Ziva squealed with laughter as she ran towards he hidden supply of balloons only to see McGee standing there, sheepishly grinning.

"Looking for these…Zi?" McGee asked as he watched Tony stop quickly beside her.

"Not, Tim….no need to…" SPLAT! SPLAT! Tony no sooner started to talk then McGee threw one at Ziva and one at Tony, hitting each person squarely in the chest.

"YOU ARE DEAD MCGEEK!" Tony said as he turned to chase Tim.

Anne just laughed as she watched the 'kids' chase each other, but it was then that a bright idea hit her. She had no idea that now she was being observed from the kitchen door window. She quickly made her way to the edge of the house and grabbed what she was looking for. She made her was back to the table, making sure that what she had would remain unseen. She then yelled out. " Hey….all of you come here for a minute." She watched as each of them stopped and made there way to stand in front of her on the picnic table. She smiled coyly as she asked, " So are you guys the only ones allowed to have fun, I wasn't invited to play?"

"No offense , Anne….just thought you were….you know….too mature?" Tony said with a slight raise of his shoulders.

"Oh, yeah thanks for reminding me that I am so MATURE. So how MATURE is this?" She said as she quickly pulled the hose out from underneath her and blasted all three of the agents full force with water. They all screamed like girls at the surprise and turned to run away from the cold water. Anne just threw her head back and laughed. "Come on….what are you…scared?"

Gibbs had watched the whole scene unfold right before his eyes. He was laughing harder than he had remembered in a long time. He thougt that maybe….just maybe….Anne might fit in just right here. Now it was his turn for some fun and games.

PLEASE REVIEW! I LOVE TO READ THEM ALL!


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